Letters from the Beloved – As He Is Light
John, the beloved, uses the phrase “as He is” (mostly referring to Jesus) five times in his first letter. [See 1 John 1:7; 3:2, 3, 7; 4:17]
John tells us that:
· Jesus is light, so we should walk in it. 1 John 1:7 [NKJV] 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light…
· Jesus is pure, so we should purify ourselves. 1 John 3:3 [NKJV]. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. ...
· Jesus is righteous, so we should practice righteousness. 1 John 3:7 [NKJV] 7 ... He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.
· Jesus acted a certain way while in the world, so we should act the same. 1 John 4:17 [NKJV] 17 …because as He is, so are we in this world.
It seems like an important distinction that Jesus is light, pure, and righteous, whereas we should “do” or “act” accordingly.
Today, we will start a series on these “He is” teachings of John, the beloved, beginning with light.
You and I know, sweet sisters, that we are not inherently “the light”. We are not born as light. The only One who walked on this earth as the light in and of Himself is Jesus.
John 9:5 [NKJV] "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." He shined that light into the world while He was here, through His example, His teachings and the miracles He performed.
We can become light by walking in the light.
In John 8:12 [NKJV] Jesus tells us how to become light, Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." We have the light when we walk as He walked – that is, when our example, teaching/words and actions are in line with His.
We gain more insight from John 11:9-10 NKJV] 9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 "But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." So, we must walk as He walked and that means always walking in His light. We cannot do His work by walking in the night – that is by following in the steps on Satan (the father of darkness) and unbelievers.
Picture an old movie, where someone is standing in a circle of light provided by a streetlamp. Yes, the world is in darkness. But, when we walk in His light, it is like we are within that circle of lamplight. Only, unlike in the movies, the lamplight moves with us as we move through the world. It shines a light on the next steps we should take and allows us to walk in the light without the darkness ever touching us. Just like we are told in Psalm 119:105 [NKJV] Your word [is] a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
Knowing the word of God, the Bible, and the Word of God (Jesus), is what allows us to understand where the light is but we must live within that light – that is follow the steps of Jesus and obey the word of God – in order to ensure we walk in the daylight like brightness of His lamplight.
Matthew provides important insight into why we must work to become a light in the world. Matthew 5:14-16 [NKJV] 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all [who are] in the house. 16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
We don’t walk in the light to expose our own greatness. Like the moon, our light only exists because of the light of the Son (in our case – sun in the case the moon). Ours is a reflected light.
In fact, the better analogy might be that we are like solar panels. It is our job, sweet sisters, to become like solar panels. We are to absorb the light and then use the power it gives to provide light, warmth and goodness into the world so that the world praises the source of that light (and not we solar panels). We don’t praise solar panels, do we? They are just a conduit. A solar panel sitting in a warehouse is not doing its job – cannot provide energy or light to anyone. It must be set out where it can absorb the light.
Psalm 119:105 [NKJV] Your word [is] a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
And so we must walk in the light of His word, His example and His love, absorbing and internalizing it so that we can then provide the same into the world. Then the world has the opportunity to see the light we produce and praise the Son for sending the light through us.
If we walk in His light, purify ourselves and act in righteousness, we are walking in His footsteps in this world. We’ll learn more about this, focusing on purifying ourselves, in the next blog in this series.
I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me in the comments section or at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org